Residents in and around the Town of Osoyoos are being invited to share their thoughts about the pending opening of retail cannabis outlets in the community at a public hearing.
The public hearing will take place on Monday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in Rooms 4-5 at the Sonora Community Centre in Osoyoos.
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff and Councillors Jim King, Carol Youngberg, C.J. Rhodes and Mike Campol will be in attendance to receive input on the proposed bylaw that will allow cannabis retail outlets in the small tourist town.
Osoyoos became the first - and still believed to be the only community - in British Columbia to prohibit government-run public cannabis outlets and will only allow private business owners to own and operate the retail operations.
Several weeks ago, Osoyoos Council approved “site specific” zoning for every applicant wishing to set up and operate a retail cannabis outlet, meaning there will have to be a public hearing before any business licence is approved.
All residents will be given an opportunity to be heard and/or present written submissions before the meeting, said Town planner Gina MacKay, in a news release Thursday.
Written submissions can be mailed to the undersigned or emailed to [email protected].
The Town will only guarantee that emails received to this address will form part of the Council agenda.
The entire content of all submissions will be made public and form a part of the public record for these matters.
The deadline for written submissions is Friday, Sept. 28 at noon.
A copy of the proposed zoning bylaw can be viewed at the Department of Planning and Development Services office, located at 8711 Main Street in Osoyoos from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding the lunch hour between noon and 1 p.m. Monday to Friday.
For more information, click here.
